John Zderko, a character actor who appeared in an episode of Criminal Minds, died Thursday. He was 60. Zderko died of complications from cancer treatment, his friend, actor Charley Koontz, told The Hollywood Reporter.
“A great friend and an excellent actor gone way too soon,” Koontz wrote on Twitter. “Thank you so much to [THR] and [Mike Barnes] for giving our friend a true Hollywood sendoff. And to [Jeffrey Johnson] for the great idea. Your name in lights one more time, John. Love you pal. RIP.” Zderko is survived by his sister Kaen, brother-in-law Steve, and nephews Jason and Jeff.
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Zderko was raised in Ohio, Colorado, and New Jersey. He attended Park Ridge High School and played on the same basketball team as James Gandolfini. He attended the University of California Irvine and had a successful business career while taking acting lessons at UCLA on the site. After quitting his day job, he began acting at West of Broadway in Santa Monica. He acted in front of a camera for the first time in 2005, appearing in a short film called Twilight.
After starring in over a dozen shorts and an episode of Untold Stories of the ER, he earned his first roles in primetime TV dramas in 2012. That year, he was seen in episodes of The Mentalist and Criminal Minds. His Criminal Minds episode was “The Company.” The Season 7 episode found the team looking for Morgan’s (Shemar Moore) cousin in Chicago after his sister Desiree (Benita Kirsa Nall) is injured in a car accident after chasing another car thought to be carrying Morgan’s cousin. Zderko played a character named Dominic Maguire. It is available to stream on Paramount+.
Zderko also starred in episodes of Dark Forrest, The Player, Dirty John, Casting the Net, 9-1-1: Lone Star, and Bosch: Legacy. He also had roles in the movies Amnesia: Who Are You?, Haunting of Cellblock 11 (also known as Apparitional), Something About Her, Dinner for Six, Jinn, Captain Black, and Best Fake Friends. His latest movie is Breaking, which stars John Boyega and the late Michael K. Williams. Bleeker Street will release Breaking, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival.
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